Sunday, July 21, 2013

Goin' Underground: Rockin' Bones #1 (NEC, 1992)


Who says OTBP is dead? We're back, baby! And I have to apologize for the insanely long hiatus. A renewed vigor and love for video games led me to create another blog, called videodyssey (specializing in obscure games, of course), but other than that it has just been a bout of pure laziness on my part. I am happy to say that I am back and ready to up the ante on this blog, with all kinds of cool and obscure comic madness.

Let's kick this thing off with 90's underground comix gem Rockin' Bones #1 by New England Comics. The Rockin' Bones series was the brainchild of one Darren Merinuk, whose distinctive brand of retro-kitsch rock art will blow you away.

Right away we are introduced to Darren as he let's us in on what to expect in this first issue:


There are several different stories in this first issue. Monsters, Aliens, Punk Rockers...they're all here in a glorious lo-fi rock n' roll mash-up. Here are a few of my favorites:

In "I Was A Rockabilly Werewolf", Ronnie learns a vital lesson in women, being a werewolf, and revealing to much information in a song...


"Rock 'N' Roll Confidential" is a throwback tale reminiscent of the Pre-Code Horror scare of the 50's:


One of my favorites is "Mutant Lobsters At Large!", which appears to be an homage to Roger Corman:


Another favorite is this one page story "She Was A Hippie Vampire":


We are also treated to this splash page of absolute Monster Mayhem:



This is just a snippet of the awesomeness to be had in Merinuk's Rockin' Bones series. I believe the series lasted three issues, but Merinuk has gone on to make artwork for several album covers (you can see a bunch here). His artwork is amazing and really stands out, claiming a genre of it's own. Also be sure to check out In The Rubber Room, which is Merinuk's art blog where he is still posting his amazing works today.

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